Every year in early January, Earth reaches the closest point in its orbit to the Sun, a moment astronomers call perihelion.

Each year, Earth reaches its closest point to the sun in early January, a moment called perihelion. In 2026, this occurred on ...

Earth’s orbit around the Sun isn’t a perfect circle—it’s slightly elliptical. Each year, around July 2 or 3, Earth reaches its farthest point from the Sun, known as aphelion. Around January 2 or 3, ...

A strange shift in Earth's rotation is making our days milliseconds shorter — and scientists are racing to understand why. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate ...